In just a few short years, Richard K. Morgan has vaulted to the pinnacle of the science fiction world. Now he turns his iconoclastic talents to epic fantasy, crafting a darkly violent, tautly plotted adventure sure to thrill old fans and captivate new readers.

The Cold Commands: A Land Fit for Heroes, Book 2

Only a select few have earned the right to call Gil friend. One is Egar, the Dragonbane, a fierce Majak fighter who comes to respect a heart as savage and loyal as his own. Another is Archeth, the last remaining daughter of an otherworldly race called the Kiriath, who once used their advanced technology to save the world from the dark magic of the Aldrain - only to depart for reasons as mysterious as their arrival.

The Dark Defiles: A Land Fit for Heroes, Book 3

Ringil Eskiath, a reluctant hero viewed as a corrupt degenerate by the very people who demand his help, has traveled far in search of the Illwrack Changeling, a deathless human sorcerer-warrior raised by the bloodthirsty Aldrain, former rulers of the world. Separated from his companions - Egar the Dragonbane and Archeth - Ringil risks his soul to master a deadly magic that alone can challenge the might of the Changeling.

Thirteen

Marsalis is one of a new breed...literally. Genetically engineered by the U.S. government to embody the naked aggression and primal survival skills that centuries of civilization have erased from humankind, Thirteens were intended to be the ultimate military fighting force. The project was scuttled, however, when a fearful public branded the supersoldiers dangerous mutants, dooming the Thirteens to forced exile on Earth's distant, desolate Mars colony. But Marsalis found a way to slip back.

The Price of Valor: The Shadow Campaigns, Book 3

In the wake of the king's death, war has come to Vordan. The deputies-general have precarious control of the city, but it is led by a zealot who sees traitors in every shadow. Executions have become a grim public spectacle. The new queen, Raesinia Orboan, finds herself nearly powerless as the government tightens its grip and assassins threaten her life. But she did not help free the country from one sort of tyranny to see it fall into another. Placing her trust with steadfast soldier, Marcus D'Ivoire, she sets out to turn the tide of history.

The Crippled God: Malazan Book of the Fallen Series, Book 10

Savaged by the K'Chain Nah'Ruk, the Bonehunters march for Kolanse, where waits an unknown fate. Tormented by questions, the army totters on the edge of mutiny, but Adjunct Tavore will not relent. One final act remains, if it is in her power, if she can hold her army together, if the shaky allegiances she has forged can survive all that is to come. A woman with no gifts of magic, deemed plain, unprepossessing, displaying nothing to instill loyalty or confidence, Tavore Paran of House Paran means to challenge the gods - if her own troops don't kill her first.

Market Forces

What do you buy and sell when the global markets reach saturation point? The markets themselves. Thirty years from now the big players in global capitalism have moved on from commodities. The big money is in conflict investment. The corporations keep a careful watch on the wars of liberation and revolution that burn constantly around the world. They guage who the winners will be and sell them arms, intelligence, and power. In return for a slice of the action when the war is won.

Broken Angels

Cynical, quick-on-the-trigger Takeshi Kovacs, the ex-U.N. envoy turned private eye, has changed careers, and bodies, once more, trading sleuthing for soldiering as a warrior-for-hire and helping a far-flung planet's government put down a bloody revolution.

Queen of Fire: A Raven's Shadow Novel, Book 3

After fighting back from the brink of death, Queen Lyrna is determined to repel the invading Volarian army and regain the independence of the Unified Realm. Except to accomplish her goals, she must do more than rally her loyal supporters. She must align herself with forces she once found repugnant - those who possess the strange and varied gifts of the Dark - and take the war to her enemy's doorstep. Victory rests on the shoulders of Vaelin Al Sorna, now named battle lord of the realm. However, his path is riddled with difficulties.

Woken Furies

Richard K. Morgan has received widespread praise for his astounding 25th-century novels featuring Takeshi Kovacs, and has established a growing legion of fans. Mixing classic noir sensibilities with a searing futuristic vision of an age when death is nearly meaningless, Morgan returns to his saga of betrayal, mystery, and revenge, as Takeshi Kovacs, in one fatal moment, joins forces with a mysterious woman who may have the power to shatter Harlan's World forever.

The Liar's Key

After harrowing adventure and near-death, Prince Jalan Kendeth and the Viking Snorri ver Snagason find themselves in possession of Loki's Key, an artefact capable of opening any door and sought by the most dangerous beings in the Broken Empire - including The Dead King. Jal wants only to return home to his wine, women, and song, but Snorri has his own purpose for the key: to find the very door into death, throw it wide, and bring his family back into the land of the living.

The Providence of Fire

Having learned the identity of her father's assassin, Adare flees the Dawn Palace in search of allies to challenge the coup against her family. Few trust her, but when she is believed to be touched by Intarra, patron goddess of the empire, the people rally to help her retake the capital city. As armies prepare to clash, the threat of invasion from barbarian hordes compels the rival forces to unite against their common enemy.

Half the World

Sometimes a girl is touched by Mother War. Thorn is such a girl. Desperate to avenge her dead father, she lives to fight. But she has been named a murderer by the very man who trained her to kill. Sometimes a woman becomes a warrior. She finds herself caught up in the schemes of Father Yarvi, Gettland’s deeply cunning minister. Crossing half the world to find allies against the ruthless High King, she learns harsh lessons of blood and deceit. Sometimes a warrior becomes a weapon. Beside her on the journey is Brand, a young warrior who hates to kill, a failure in his eyes and hers, but with one chance at redemption. And weapons are made for one purpose. Will Thorn forever be a pawn in the hands of the powerful, or can she carve her own path?

Sword of the North: The Grim Company

As Davarus Cole and his former companions were quick to discover, the White Lady' s victorious liberation of Dorminia has not resulted in the freedom they once imagined. Anyone perceived as a threat has been seized and imprisoned - or exiled to darker regions - leaving the White Lady's rule unchallenged and absolute.

A Crown for Cold Silver

Twenty years ago feared general Cobalt Zosia led her five villainous captains and mercenary army into battle, wrestling monsters and toppling an empire. When there were no more titles to win and no more worlds to conquer, she retired and gave up her legend to history.

The Skull Throne

The Skull Throne of Krasia stands empty. Built from the skulls of fallen generals and demon princes, it is a seat of honor and ancient, powerful magic, keeping the demon corelings at bay. From atop the throne, Ahmann Jardir was meant to conquer the known world, forging its isolated peoples into a unified army to rise up and end the demon war once and for all. But Arlen Bales, the Warded Man, stood against this course, challenging Jardir to a duel he could not in honor refuse.

The Autumn Republic

Field Marshal Tamas returns to his beloved country to find that for the first time in history, the capital city of Adro lies in the hands of a foreign invader. His son is missing, his allies are indistinguishable from his foes, and reinforcements are several weeks away.

The Grace of Kings: The Dandelion Dynasty

Wily, charming Kuni Garu, a bandit, and stern, fearless Mata Zyndu, the son of a deposed duke, seem like polar opposites. Yet in the uprising against the emperor, the two quickly become the best of friends after a series of adventures fighting against vast conscripted armies, silk-draped airships, and shapeshifting gods.

Half a War

Princess Skara has seen all she loved made blood and ashes. She is left with only words. But the right words can be as deadly as any blade. She must conquer her fears and sharpen her wits to a lethal edge if she is to reclaim her birthright. Only half a war is fought with swords. The deep-cunning Father Yarvi has walked a long road from crippled slave to king's minister. He has made allies of old foes and stitched together an uneasy peace.

A Crucible of Souls: The Sorcery Ascendant Sequence, Book 1

When Caldan’s parents are brutally slain, he is raised by monks and taught the arcane mysteries of sorcery. Vowing to discover for himself who his parents really were, and what led to their violent end, he is thrust into the unfamiliar chaos of city life. With nothing to his name but a pair of mysterious heirlooms and a handful of coins, he must prove his talent to earn an apprenticeship with a guild of sorcerers. But he soon learns the world outside the monastery is a darker place than he ever imagined, and his treasured sorcery has disturbing depths. As a shadowed evil manipulates the unwary and forbidden powers are unleashed, Caldan is plunged into an age-old conflict that brings the world to the edge of destruction.

The Shadow of What Was Lost: The Licanius Trilogy, Book 1

It has been 20 years since the end of the war. The dictatorial Augurs, once thought of almost as gods, were overthrown and wiped out during the conflict, their much-feared powers mysteriously failing them. Those who had ruled under them, men and women with a lesser ability known as the Gift, avoided the Augurs' fate only by submitting themselves to the rebellion's Four Tenets.

Ascension: The Trysmoon Saga, Book 1

Gen was a bard's apprentice, his nimble hands meant for the lute and his voice for a song. Then the half-mad and completely bored Shadan Khairn invaded Gen's village to winter there and start a war. He shoved a sword in Gen's hands and tormented his body, shaping a bard into a warrior to be killed for sport. As the days of torture pile up like the snow, Gen searches for death. But the day is at hand when the shattered shards of the world will knit together again, and the world's slain god will be reborn.

The Cycle of Arawn: The Complete Trilogy

The White Tree (book one): In Mallon the dark magic of the nether has been banned for centuries. Its users have been driven out or killed. Its secrets lost. But the holy book of the nethermancers has just been found by a boy named Dante. As he works to unlock the book's power, he's attacked in the street. The nethermancers aren't gone—and they want their book back. Caught between death cultists and the law, Dante fights for his life, aided by his growing skills and a brash bodyguard named Blays.

Altered Carbon

In the 25th century, humankind has spread throughout the galaxy, monitored by the watchful eye of the U.N. While divisions in race, religion, and class still exist, advances in technology have redefined life itself. Now, assuming one can afford the expensive procedure, a person's consciousness can be stored in a cortical stack at the base of the brain and easily downloaded into a new body (or "sleeve") making death nothing more than a minor blip on a screen.

The Darkness That Comes Before: The Prince of Nothing, Book One

In a world scarred by an apocalyptic past, evoking a time both 2,000 years past and 2,000 years into the future, untold thousands gather for a crusade. Among them, two men and two women are ensnared by a mysterious traveler, Anasûrimbor Kellhus - part warrior, part philosopher, part sorcerous, charismatic presence - from lands long thought dead. The Darkness That Comes Before is a history of this great holy war, and like all histories, the survivors write its conclusion.

Publisher's Summary

In just a few short years, Richard K. Morgan has vaulted to the pinnacle of the science fiction world. Now he turns his iconoclastic talents to epic fantasy, crafting a darkly violent, tautly plotted adventure sure to thrill old fans and captivate new readers.

A dark lord will rise. Such is the prophecy that dogs the footsteps of Ringil Eskiath - Gil, for short - a washed-up mercenary and onetime war hero whose world-weary cynicism is surpassed only by the quickness of his temper and the speed of his sword. That sword, forged by a vanished eldritch race known as the Kiriath, has brought him unlooked-for notoriety, as has his habit of poking his nose where it doesn't belong.

Gil is estranged from his aristocratic family, but that doesn't stop his mother from enlisting his help in freeing a cousin sold into slavery. Grumbling all the way, Gil sets out to track her down. But it soon becomes apparent that more is at stake than the fate of one luckless young woman. Grim sorceries that have not been seen for centuries are awakening in the land. Some speak in whispers of the return of an all-but-legendary race known as the Aldrain, cruel yet beautiful demons feared even by the Kiriath.

Now Gil and two old comrades are all that stand in the way of a prophecy whose fulfillment will drown an entire world in blood. But with heroes like these, the cure is likely to be worse than the disease.

Richard K. Morgan (The new 'god' of Cyber Punk) jumps the genre to keep himself free from pigeonholes. All Mr. Morgan's books have had extreme feminist leanings and his comics where a feminist steroid of the next generation! This book does not disappoint on those fronts, but if you have issues with Male on Male homosexuality or any homosexuality for that matter than stop now.
Now that everyone with a pre-disposed dislike for a majority of the books interpersonal views has left, Mr. Morgan has written a good, strong book. This is not Cyber Punk, or anything remotely close to the corporate mechanisms of 'Market Forces' of the past. This is a book of swords, horses and wagons, and not in a War Hammer 40,000 version either. The book is well written, as can be expected of any Morgan book, and his character inter-play has lost none of its wit. Strong story, good characters and a lengthy listen. A good book that missed a five star for some over the top gay sexual verbiage that seemed to be there only to antagonize the intolerant and not to strengthen the story.
Even so this is not your average medieval dandy prancing the countryside. He is a strong male character who cleaves Demons, and annoying toadies. The character isn't a perfect specimen of human gayiety to spite the intolerant either. He is flawed, (as with EVERY RKM novel) with horrible family relations, misses what he sees as a simpler time who has been out of favor and action just long enough to not know the right people, who has the power, and seems to be complaining about a small widening of the midsection. Him and his sword still kick some butt. A well rounded book, and many thanks to Mr. Morgan for his hard work. The narrator's voice lends a gruff voice to polish off the strong male character Mr. Morgan has written.

I have read many books by this author and this is up to the usual high quality. Most important, the writing is good. Scifi/fantasy books often have interesting story ideas but the writing and language can range from mediocre to truly awful. Morgans stories are quite original [this one perhaps a little less than others], and writing is so consistently good the stories really come alive. This includes the plotting and especially the language.
As far as the sexual content goes, realistically, it was no more prominent in this story than in any other Morgan novels meaning that there is some and it is consistent in tone with the rest of the book.
And yes there is gay as well as straight sexuality depicted - you know- just like in real life! In Morgans other books as well as this one, we get plenty of scenes of straight sex graphically and imaginatively delivered, and dont forget one of the main plot lines of this story involves the legalized trade in female sex slaves! That seems to cause no alarm. But when male/male sexual interaction occurs suddenly it is over the top as another reviewer wrote-come on! [BTW one of the other important characters is a Lesbian, but that is not pointed out possibly b/c we dont have to endure any sex scenes with her.]
The protagonists sexuality is a natural, normal part of his life and is depicted as such. We see how he is hassled by ignorant bigots and betrayed by his own family over it [just like in real life too!] And we also get to see when he finds some pleasure and companionship. To handle it any other way would be stilted and weird. Thank you Richard Morgan! This will be refreshing especially for gay people but also any straight people who want to imagine a world where gays exist and are even sometimes the heroes and heroines [just like real life!]

I came to this book as a great admirer of Richard K. Morgan's sci-fi, especially Altered Carbon and Thirteen. All the themes in those books are here--the embittered, burned-out warrior, who still possesses great ability, comes out of a kind of retirement to avenge the wrongs done to the weak and poor by the powerful and rich. The twist here, of course, is that in lieu of a 22nd or 25th century setting, we get a swords and sorcery fantasy.

The other reviewer is certainly right to warn that the book is filled with foul language, gay sex, and deep cynicism. But Morgan fans should take the leap. I think Morgan is only getting better with each book!

Would you be willing to try another book from Richard K. Morgan? Why or why not?

After reading and enjoying no less than 5 other Richard K. Morgan books, I had high hopes for this one, but I'm sad to say that it did nothing for me. Everything just felt a little overwrought. I was excited about the prospect of a gay hero, but found that Ringil's character fit into Morgan's usual mold of hyper-masculine protagonist - only much more so, and to the point of being just being an asshole. With all that his character has been through due to his sexuality, much of his rage is justified, but he's just such an asshole to *everyone* that he's hard to sympathize with. And some of his one liners are just painfully over the top. For example:

""Simple enough," he whispered. "A cheap fuck doesn't need to have a name. But I like to know what to call the men I'm going to kill.""

Oof.

All the fantasy elements - the hard to pronounce names and places, titles, weapons, mythologies - felt forced. It's possible that listening to it in audiobook form with a less than stellar narrator had something to do with it, but there are plenty of books I've listened to in this format that didn't leave me nearly as weary.

Did Simon Vance do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

I think Simon Vance is great at voicing tough-guy male characters (as he did in Richard K. Morgan's "Thirteen") but when it comes to female characters, they all sound equally wispy and sibilant and ineffectual.

This was a tough book to get through, and a tough book to evaluate/review.

1) Overall I liked it, although I would not recommend it to some of my friends who might be mortified by the graphic gay sex throughout the story. In fairness, this is, or should be, no different than graphic heterosexual scenes, so I figured that it was just different and therefore somewhat uncomfortable.

2) Throughout the novel I kept feeling like this was part of a bigger story that I had missed .. or was somehow missing as it unfolded. Because he has created whole worlds, it was a little hard for me to keep the character names and races straight .. probably a physical book would have been easier because seeing the words somehow helps me keep obscure references a bit straighter.

3) The main character is tormented, and I found myself wondering who he represented metaphorically.

4) There are key characters about whom we have to guess a lot because their circumstances were merely alluded to or hinted at .. hence my earlier comment about there being a larger story of which this is just a part.

The tale wound around so much it was hard somethimes to recognize the plot. I was delighted when our three "heroes" hooked up with each other .. but it was already the end of the book.

This is Morgan's worst novel, except perhaps for Market Forces. I found it needlessly hyper-detailed (to the point of obscuring the plot itself).
Both Morgan and Neal Stephenson need to brush up on Truman Capote's advice: go back through your novel 3 times and remove extraneous verbiage. Like Stephenson's "Anathem", this sounds like a rough first draft. Or, perhaps, the equivalent of a 4 hour long film. Editing please - for God's sake please!

This is a very intelligent reading of a difficult book. I was frankly disappointed by the print version, but Simon Vance manages to get beyond the jokes, cliches, homages and frank missteps to find the vein of utterly unsentimental humanism I look for from Morgan. Passages (and profanity) that only grated on the page play better here. Fair warning -- there is a good deal of graphic sex in the first half. I think it works (well, mostly) as characterization and as plot device, but you won't want to listen to it in the grocery store.

Maximum discouragement for anyone considering devoting 15 hours to this rambling, and sometimes completely confusing effort.
It's interesting to see a popular author strike out into new territory, but if this is the result, I judge it a complete failure. Mr. Morgan may decide to continue to explore this genre, but he should let a couple fans and, help us all, a talented editor provide some strongly discouraging advise.
It's the weakest listen I've encountered from Audible, after around 5 years of rather heavy use (I drive a lot.)
By the way, if anyone is intrigued by the gay sex that is occasionally thrown in - the main character is gay - don't bother. It's uncomfortable even for a gay man to read. I'm not sure of the author's motives, but for a guy who can write a reasonably erotic straight encounter, this is a puzzling and failed attempt. I can't imagine that a single living gay man could listen to this without bursting into laughter. If you must, at least find a gay consultant. Not good. In short, an embarassment to an otherwise interesting author.

I really tried to like this gritty and obscenity laden novel for its unique take on an old formula, or seemingly unique to this specific genre - i.e., an openly gay protagonist. Only I came away caring nothing for any of the characters. In fact, I felt more for the villain of the story than I did the hero, or anti-hero in this case. Sexual preferences aside, I was hoping for at least one strong, committed relationship - something to make me care. Nope. Just a whole lot of sex. If it wasn't performed, then it was yammered about constantly in all its lurid detail. No depth of feeling, no doing something or going on a quest because they *cared.* Just "I'm going because so-and-so made me." *insert eye roll here* Bor-ing. If you don't care why you're going and doing the things you do, then why should I? The author spent more time on the sex and the obscenities than trying to move. the. story. along. Most of my time was spent wading through the constant F-bombs than it was trying to get into the novel itself. Am almost prepared to swear that ever other sentence is peppered with it - multiple times. That would be pretty impressive, if it wasn't so bloody annoying. Seems the only reason this novel was written is to showcase the F-word in every way possible and to cash in on Ringil's sexual preference...in other words -- a gimmick with no hint of depth in sight.

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